Far From Home
by Calysra
Summary: Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph have mysteriously entered our modern world, or more specifically, my world, during a thunderstorm. What impact will they have here, and how are they going to get home?
1. Different World

Be patient as you read, please. The Avatar characters don't come in until the middlish/end of this chapter.

I hit on this idea yesterday, and thought it would be interesting to write out. It's practice in first-person writing, as well. Sorry you have to trudge through me being a retard before you actually get to hear the Avatar characters talk.

Disclaimer: None of the Avatar characters belong to me, they belong to Mike and Bryan.

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I'm just a normal person. I don't ask for these sorts of things to happen to me. It would have even been a normal day, if it hadn't been for the monster storm gathering above me. Class had been cancelled for the day, and I was enjoying the free time on my computer, reading a new Avatar fanfiction I'd found earlier.

I took a sip of my hot chocolate as I finished reading. I was thinking about Avatar, and looked up an episode to watch online. I had just opened the video when a blast of thunder accompanied a blinding flash of lighting and shook the air outside. The rain abruptly began pouring down. The lights flickered and went out, but my laptop stayed on because of the battery inside. Katara's introduction to the episode was silenced when the external speakers lost power. Not too worried about it, I swallowed some more hot chocolate and reached out to pull the speaker plug from the computer so that I could hear the episode.

Lightning flashed and the thunder was hot on it's tail, shaking the very concrete foundation of my apartment. I shrieked as the mug fell from my hands and fell hard on my laptop. The brown liquid splashed all over the keyboard and screen. I leaned back when it sparked briefly and then went dark. I stared in horror.

"No!" I cried, "No no no no no no, noooo!" but it didn't help. My computer was fried. "Aw, damn!" I stood up from my stool so quickly that I tripped over it and fell to the floor, flat on my back. It was a good thing I had just cleaned my room and the floor was clear. My roommate appeared at the door with a flashlight.

"What? What happened?" I stayed on the floor, figuring it was as good an alternative as standing was. I groaned.

"My computer…" I whimpered. She turned and saw the mess, and winced in sympathy.

"Oh." She said. I propped myself up and sighed.

"Yeah. I hope my warranty covers this." I said. Then a thought occurred to me. _Oh, God, what if it ruins my hardrive? All my files… _I groaned again and got up as my roommate found words to lament the situation.

"Well that sucks."

I sighed. "Well, whatever. I'll just send it off to be fixed."

She nodded, and turned to go. "Some storm…" She muttered.

"Tell me about it."

"Oh, hey!" She turned back to me, her brown eyes shining. "Do you have a rain jacket?"

"You're going out? In this?" I asked incredulously as I tried, pathetically, to mop up the now-cold chocolate drink that was seeping between the keys.

She shrugged. "I figure it's better than staying cooped up all day. My friend's going to pick me up soon."

I sighed and stood. Her friends were just as nuts as she was. "Yeah, yeah, here it is." I grabbed the rain jacket and handed it to her as her phone rang. She thanked me and darted towards the door.

"Lock it behind me?" She called.

"Yeah, sure!" I answered, and she was gone. I followed the path she'd taken, much more slowly, and turned the lock. When I turned, I realized the house was uncharacteristically dark. I could hardly see anything. I sighed and made my way to the kitchen, opening the drawer where I kept the lighter. I found it and turned around to light the candle behind me on the counter.

I pushed the button on top and pulled the trigger, and watched the little bit of flame flicker up…

"She's a firebender!" A young voice exclaimed from behind me. I whirled and dropped the lighter. The flame went out.

"Shush, Aang!" Said a female voice.

_Aang?_ No way. This was unreal. I stood stock still in shock. Something that sounded like metal on cloth or leather pulled me out of my stillness. Lightning lit up my living room window and I saw the silhouettes of four people.

"No, wait! I'm not a firebender!" _This was insane…_

Silence.

"How can we know you're telling the truth?" Asked a distinctive male voice. Sokka. _Four silhouettes,_ I remembered. A smile touched my lips.

"Ask Toph. If she can see through this floor, she should be able to tell." I heard the rustling of fabric as they turned to her. I waited in the dark, assuming she was listening.

"It's fuzzy, but there is hard rock beneath this soft stuff. She's excited, and a little scared, but it isn't because she's lying." Relief flooded me. Good old Toph.

"So how did you make that flame without a flint or spark?" Sokka asked, putting away his boomerang. Uh oh. How was I supposed to introduce the cast of Avatar to modern inventions? _This is crazy! This can't be real! This can't be happening!_ I ignored the rationality that was screaming inside me.

"It's a tool, Sokka. It makes a spark and ignites a little bit of the liquid inside so that you can light candles and things." I shifted nervously. "Mind if I light some candles? I'd like to be able to see the four of you."

"Please do." Katara said quickly. "I'd like to be able to see as well."

"Wait!" Sokka commanded as I reached for the lighter on the ground. "How do you know our names?"

I picked up the lighter and smiled at the little flame it produced. "At the risk of sounding suspicious, I know a lot about the four of you." I put the flame in the candle and lit the wick, and by the light of that found my small hurricane lamp and lit it as well.

"How?" Aang asked. I put the glass cover over the flame on the lamp and carried it over to them. There was a moderate amount of light now, and I could see their faces. In the real world. It was strange.

"I don't know how you guys got here, but this isn't your world. Here, the four of you and your adventures are just a story that someone told me." I looked them each in the eye, even Toph, who couldn't return it. "Here, there are no benders, no four nations, no Sozin's comet, no firelord. There is war, but it is not your war. There are elements, but no Avatar." The four stepped back in shock.

"How do we get home?" Sokka demanded. I looked at him sadly.

"I don't know."

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Like it? Let me know!


	2. New Clothes, No Clues

A few more words, but still no idea how I'm going to end this. I really have no idea how they got here, but I figure I'll come up with something. This is a bit long. Please let me know if this is tedious!

A reviewer on the first chapter pointed out that some more description of the first person character would be nice. I'm very sorry. When I'm in a story, I forget to describe myself. I'm sure later the Gaang will comment on my blonde hair.

I'm eighteen, short, with shoulderlenght layered blonde hair, blue-gray eyes, etc. I'm pretty shy, but also very stubborn and sometimes emotional (not as bad as Katara). I might update the first chapter so that it describes the setting a bit better (what the heck time of day is all this happening, anyways?)

Disclaimer: I own nothing but myself and my apartment.

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_I'm going crazy _I thought. _This obsession with Avatar has gone to my head, and now I'm imagining them in my living room and talking to them!_

All of them stared at me blankly. Maybe I _was _going insane, but I didn't want to _look _insane. I cleared my throat.

"So… I guess you're all stuck here until we figure out a way to get you home." I laughed nervously. If all of this _was_ real, there were now going to be four extra mouths to feed. And how _was _I going to explain this to my roommate?

As if things couldn't get any worse (or better, depending on how you look at it), the electricity flickered back to life. Three of them ducked. Toph didn't notice anything different, however, and remained upright, slightly confused.

"What? What's going on?" She asked.

"Nothing!" I said in haste. "That's normal here."

"What!" Sokka squeaked. "Where is the light coming from?" He slowly regained his normal posture and tiptoed towards the lamp in the corner.

"Um… well, see, in this world people have figured out how to make the same stuff lightning is made up of. They use it for a lot of things. In that, it makes light. It can also make heat, like for cooking, and to heat up water for washing stuff."

To my dismay, the Gaang scatter throughout my apartment. I groaned. It was like a bad Star Trek episode. You know, time travel ethics? Keeping modern inventions away from those who come from societies that don't have them? That sort of thing. But I was going to have a hard time keeping them from the many modern inventions that made up my every day.

As they scattered, I took note of some things. None of them were wearing fire nation clothes yet, but Toph was a part of the gang. They'd come from the second season, then. With that one little thought, my mind took off, asking what was left of the rational part of me dozens of questions. How had they gotten here? The storm? Was I going to be able to get them home? What would happen if I didn't? Could they even bend anything in this world?

My last question, at least, was answered when a stream of tap water flowed past my nose. I jumped back. Katara laughed from the kitchen. She'd just discovered running water. Aang was studying my parakeets, who were chirping madly at all the commotion. The air conditioner kicked on (_What was the thermostat set on?_ I thought. It was October for heaven's sakes!) and the Avatar jumped back, surprised, as the current of cold air hit him. He stared at the vent, entranced.

"Did you draw these? They're very nice." I looked around, surprised. Sokka was studying the drawings and paintings on my walls. I scowled. For some reason, it got a little repetitive that everyone who came in my house asked the same question. I mean, really. The guy's surrounded by modern technology and he stops to appreciate the tiger painting on the wall.

"Yeah, most of them." I replied. He nodded astutely. It immediately made me think of his psychiatrist identity from Season 3, but of course, he hadn't done that yet.

"This place has so many weird vibrations." Toph said. I thought about that, and realized she was probably right. I counted all the things she was probably feeling. The highway next door, the water heater, the water pipes, the air conditioner… It must all be a bunch of white noise to Toph.

"Yeah… it does." I agreed. She looked surprised.

"Can _you _see them?"

I smiled. "Well, no, not like you can. I'm aware of them, though." She nodded.

"Know anywhere I can find some real earth?" She asked nonchalantly. I looked out my window. It had stopped raining already (flaky Florida weather), but I was a little hesitant to turn her loose on the world. I think I decided that a happy Toph was an important thing to hold onto.

"It's wet, but I've got a garden outside. No major earthbending, please, and stay inside the walls."

She smirked, a mischievous look on her face. "You sound like my parents." She commented. Slightly worried, I opened the front door and she went outside.

I turned. Katara was still near the sink, playing with water. Maybe I should have asked her to wash the dishes. Aang was snapping his fingers and blowing little gusts of air towards my birds, making them flutter their wings and chirp delightedly.

Sokka seemed overwhelmed. So much to investigate. He couldn't seem to pick just one thing. My lamp lost its shade. Light switches were flicked. Repetively. The window was now open, my mini vacuum moved to the middle of the living room, and now…

The door to my refrigerator was open.

It's always about the food.

"Sokka!" I said. I had to stop this madness. He appeared over the top of the door. He had a cold hotdog hanging from his mouth. I sighed. "If you'd just be patient, I'll _cook _something for us all to eat."

"… Oh." He stepped back from the fridge. I closed it.

"I think we need a plan." I said. "Until we figure out how to get you back in your world, you have to blend in." I stepped over to the rice cooker. I dumped in two cups of rice, and then held out the cup to Katara. She got the idea, and bent some water into it. Two cups of water later, and the rice was covered and cooking. "The first thing you'll need is clothes." I looked at Katara and was surprised to find her around the same height as me. I may be eighteen, but I'm short. "You look taller on the show…" I mumbled.

"What?"

"Nothing." I grabbed some meat and green beans from the freezer and opened them. The green beans were put in a pot of water to boil and the meat went in a small skillet. Sokka was intrigued by the fireless source of heat when I turned on the stove. "Don't burn yourself, please." I said.

"I'm not going to burn myself!" He said indignantly. I shrugged.

"Okay, the rice will cook itself, so don't worry about it. Katara, could you watch this stuff?" I turned to Aang. "Come on, Aang. Let's find you some clothes."

"But I have clothes." He retorted.

"Not clothes that people wear around here." I said, and paused. A thought struck me, suddenly.

"Aang, is Momo with you?" I asked cautiously.

"Well, yeah, he always is." As if on cue, Momo popped his long-eared head up from Aang's tunic. I groaned.

"Alright, we'll deal with that later. Clothes." I walked to the corner and pulled up a pair of jeans I had but never wore. They were guys genes that had never fit my brother, and somehow had come with me when I moved. I threw them to Aang, who caught them. I motioned for him to follow and entered my room. Again I found myself thankful that I'd thought to clean it. After a bit of thought, I pulled out some clothes. A simple white longsleeved shirt, and a gray shirt with the word "element" (you know, the skateboarding company?) printed on it. I gave them to Aang.

"I'll find you a hat in a second. Go put these on." I pushed him to the bathroom, grabbing a simple belt on the way. "The pants go _over _your boots, and the white goes under the gray. The belt goes through the loops on the pants if they're too big." I shut him in and left him there.

As I returned to the kitchen, a slight vibration shook the ground. "Toph" I whispered, and went outside.

"Oh, Toph." I groaned, looking around. There wasn't much for an earthbender to work with, but there was a crater in the middle of my somewhat unkempt garden.

"What?" She demanded.

"I asked you not to do any major earthbending." Was I whining? I hoped not.

"This _isn't _major." She said stubbornly. Rebellious against any type of authority, all the time. I sighed.

"I suppose in your terms, it's not. Could you just fix it and come inside? Dinner will be done shortly, and I sure my neighbors think there was a small earthquake."

She made a lifting motion with her hands and the crater rose to make my garden flat again. She made a move to follow me, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yowch!"

"She _told _you not to burn yourself, Sokka!"

"I just wanted a piece of meat!" He whined. I hurried into the house and through to the kitchen.

"Does that mean it's done?" I asked. Katara smiled at me.

"Nearly. It cooks fast on this… whatever it's called."

"A stove." I supplied. She repeated the word as if it were magic. I looked at Sokka sulking in the corner.

"Come on, Sokka, let me find you something to wear."

"I like what I'm wearing." He said stubbornly. I sighed. Was everyone going to make this difficult for me? Besides that, Sokka was reminding me more of my brother all the time. They were the same age, anyways.

"Come on." I insisted, grabbing his wrist and dragged him. He struggled, but not much. I held my grip. Back in my room, I grabbed a bright blue shirt I'd bought in Costa Rica as a souvenir after white-water rafting. Seemed a little element-appropriate. "You should be able to wear this." I said. "It might be a little tight, but…" I glanced up. And blushed. "Sokka!"

He looked at me, holding his shirt in his hand and reaching for the one I was holding. "What?"

I sighed. "Nothing. Put this shirt on." I said, handing it to him. I stopped trying to figure out why someone who reminded me of my brother could be attractive like that as he pulled it over his head. "Just wear your own pants. I don't have any that would fit you… but take off your boots. You can have some clean socks and we'll find you some shoes later." I handed him the socks and left him there. I ran into Aang coming out of the bathroom hall. I took a look at him and laughed. He looked so different.

"Good thing you gave me the belt. The pants were a little big."

"Well, yeah, I'm smart like that." I joked. "The food's almost done cooking, so we can eat soon."

"Did you forget about me, No-name?" Toph asked. I laughed. I guess I hadn't said my name yet, had I?

"No, Toph, never. I'll get you some clothes, too."

"Clothes?" She said, shocked. "Why do I need new clothes?"

"To blend in. Don't worry, I won't put you in anything girly. It's normal for girls to wear pants and things here."

"Oh. Good."

I turned to the dryer behind Aang. Some of my clothes were still folded on top. I grabbed a pair of khaki cargo pants, my brown "earth" shirt (more appropriate clothing), and my hooded cargo vest. I gave these to Toph and said, "Try these." Dubiously, she made her way to the bathroom. I hoped she wouldn't have trouble putting them on.

"Food's ready!" Katara called. She carried it out. She'd taken it upon herself to find a plate and dish the rice, meat, and vegetable out on it. She also carried a smaller plate with just rice and green beens for Aang. How thoughtful. I grabbed some more small plates and forks for the rest of us. Sokka came out of my room and took a plate and fork before helping himself to the food. I dished up a plate for Toph, another for me, and Katara just saved what was left on the big plate for herself. My dining table was small and covered in stuff, so everyone ended up just sitting in a circle in the living room.

Toph emerged a few minutes later. Luckily for me, she hadn't seemed to have any trouble figuring out the clothes.

"Here, Toph, eat." I said, handing her the plate.

"Thanks."

"Okay, so what are we going to do?" Sokka asked in his serious planning voice. He'd already finished his food and had been staring curiously at the carpet. He and everyone else looked at me. I shook my head.

"I may live here, but I have no idea how you got here. Therefore, I have no idea how to get you back." I took a bite of food, chewed, swallowed. "What were you doing before you appeared here?"

"We were just packing up our camp to keep travelling towards Ba Sing Se. Everything was packed in Appa's saddle, but just as we went to climb up everything was dark and rainy. And then we saw the flame you made."

I nodded. "Any strange old ladies? Fortune tellers? Weird…" I searched for a word, "stuff?"

They all shook their heads, and I sighed. Of course not. I was going to have to figure this out on my own.

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I had difficulty finding a place to end this. I hope it flows okay and doesn't get too repetitive. Reviews welcome, as well as ideas for how they got here and how I can get them home!


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